the trip back to sharn was generally uneventful
we cleared out all the trouble on our way in and nothing new drifted into our return path so i had plenty of uninterrupted time to do three very important things
study those books on forged
sleep to let everything i'd learned soak in
smoke to drive off troubled dreams of what i'd seen and done
all three worked surprisingly well
however the mournland did get the last word in
we barely had enough mana reservoirs to make it back with a little extra but that included the ones we partially used to power the junction
turns out they leak and were empty by then so "just a few more minutes" became "get out and push until we're on powered track"
i was so ready to be out of there i'd have dragged the whole cart with my teeth if i had to
after so many days in the world's greyest place it was almost too much relief to step into a healthy place with sunlight and magic and life
a literal breath of fresh air
just one more of the many flesh-based metaphors that will be super amusing to me when i can look back and laugh
hey future millimax remember what breathing was like?
remember the deafening sound of the blood in your veins?
never forget but never look back
promise me
heart-aching aside (there goes another metaphor!)
in starilaskur i visited nebik to thank them again and offer a favor in return but we'll come back to that when it happens
later we all partied with siege and ballista for a bit
the next day i bought enough blank books to transcribe the forged "repair" books
i dislike that term because it feels distinct from "healing" in a very impersonal way but medya suggests "renewal" and i think that's a winner
the bad news is that when we returned to bell's tent we found it had been ... explored
some stuff was missing and much had been overturned and obviously sifted through
we asked her neighbors and nobody saw it happen but they did see some folks scouting the place
all we have for information is that they were unusually well-dressed for the area and they smelled slightly of roses so that's sort of like a clue?
but there's also good news
we're helping bell start a forged renewal... clinic? studio? shop?
medya found the perfect place in the form of a small warehouse in a part of sharn's lower central district called "myshan gardens"
the area is known for being full of dissidents and artists and the sort of folks who don't and won't conform to common social wisdom
sounds good to me
bell is naming the place "the heart and hammer" and i feel proud of it already
the floor is all stone so with a little etching we'll have a flawless casting circle for artifacting and renewal work
there's enough room that spark and relic can set up a little training center for their martial arts
we're reworking the loft into personal rooms
and since the previous tenants left because they were robbed blind (of course crime is a thing here) zer' is using his psionics to reinforce the outer walls and windows and such
the excursion into the mournland was very dangerous and very difficult but very much worth it
we got paid quite a bit
now i have more of the necessary resources to craft what i need for harmonization
even more importantly bell and i will be able to help injured forged in ways they've needed but lacked for over two years now
i know our journey into khorvaire is far from over but now there's no doubt that we're making positive progress
onward!